Today was another gorgeous day with beautiful sunny skies and temperatures reaching into the teens. The colder temperatures have been great for snowmaking. Our snowmakers have been working around the clock on Morse Mountain. Last night they made snow on Garden Path, Sir Henry’s Learning Hill, Midway, and Meadowlark. They made snow on Snow Snake the night before last. Snow Snake will be groomed tonight and open tomorrow. Our snowmakers moved over to Morse Highlands today. During the day they have been making snow on the lower half of Log Jam. They are making snow for Log Jam Terrain Park. Tonight they plan to make snow on Dixie’s Knoll, Sam’s Run, and Log Jam.

Lower Doc Dempsey’s

The snowguns on Dixie’s Knoll and Sam’s Run will be turned off in the morning and these trails will be open tomorrow. Tonight we plan to groom 30 trails including Smugglers’ Alley, Waterfall, and Wanderer for a grand total of 121 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I lift with 53 trails open and terrain for all ability levels. Birch Run Terrain Park is now open top to bottom with 10 features. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for periods of light snow with an inch of accumulation possible and a high of 24 degrees. We could see another 1 to 2 inches of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday.

We received 2 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 35 inches in the past week. Snowmaking continues on Dixie’s Knoll, Sam’s Run, and the base area of the Village Lift. We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating and 54 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 17 out of the 54 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Lower Chilcoot and the Practice Slope for a grand total of 83 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies and periods of snow with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation possible. Temperatures will be between 22 and 30 degrees. Upper FIS, Lower Catwalk, and Robin’s Run all opened today. Robin’s Run may not be open tomorrow, but will reopen once it has enough snow again. Our snowmakers have turned off the snowguns on Lower Chilcoot and we plan to groom it tonight. We plan to have it open tomorrow for your skiing and riding pleasure.

Robin’s Run with Sterling and Mount Mansfield in the background. Photo taken Dec. 14, 2017

We are presently making snow on Sam’s Run, Dixie’s Knoll, and at the base areas of the Village Lift. Ski Patrol today has opened Upper FIS to Lower Doc’s, Upper Morse Liftline, and Robin’s Run. We now have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating and 51 trails open with terrain for all ability levels.

We received 31 inches of new snow in the past 6 days and the conditions are fantastic. Tomorrow we plan to have 5 lifts operating. The Village Lift and Mogul Mouse Magic Lift will be operating to the top. Sterling Lift, Madonna I Lift, and Sir Henry’s Wonder Carpet will also be operating. The Madonna I Lift will have a delayed opening, but we plan to open at 9:30 am. We are presently making snow on Lower Chilcoot and the top of Link from the top of the Madonna II Lift down to Lower Chilcoot. Earlier this season we made some snow on Upper Chilcoot at the S turn. The rest of the trails that are open on Madonna will be natural snow coverage and there are some spots with thin cover.

Snowmaking on Lower Chilcoot

Snowcats have been on Upper Chilcoot and Drifter to pack down the snow. They also spread out the snowdrifts to give the trails the best coverage. Madonna will be experts only this weekend. We plan to have Upper Chilcoot, Link, Upper Drifter, Lower Drifter, McPherson’s, Playground, Lower Madonna Liftline, and Lower FIS open on Madonna Mountain this weekend. Sterling Mountain is 100 percent open. We plan to have Garden Path, Sam’s Run, Lower Morse Liftline, Magic Learning Trail, Sir Henry’s Learning Hill, Wanderer, Midway, and Meadowlark open on Morse Mountain this weekend. Now that Midway and Meadowlark are open you can ski or ride to and from the upper mountains back to the village.

Slalom gates on Black Snake

Tomorrow we plan to have 5 lifts operating with 46 trails open. 16 out of the 46 trails will be groomed for tomorrow that’s 72 acres of freshly groomed terrain. The Birch Run Terrain Park is open with 7 features.

I would like to thank our lift maintenance, our snowmakers, and our groomers for all their hard work so that we can have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains this weekend. Lift maintenance has been working on the Madonna I Lift and the Village Lift to get them ready to turn this Saturday and Sunday. I saw Lift Maintenance Manager Boder Stevens at the summit of Madonna today. He was getting the heaters turned on in the warming hut and the top shack. They also have to clear all the chairs and the cable of snow. Our snowmakers have also been quite busy on Morse Mountain covering Midway, Meadowlark, Lower Morse Liftline, Sam’s Run, and Garden Path.

Huge snowmaking whale at the base of Morse Mountain.

Snowmaking continues tonight on Sam’s Run, Midway, and Meadowlark. Our groomers have been working on flattening the snowmaking whales to make the trails nice and smooth. Once the snow is pushed out we can make more snow where it is needed. This weekend we plan to have the Village Lift and Mogul Mouse Magic Lift open to the top along with the Sterling Lift, the Madonna I Lift, and Sir Henry’s Wonder Carpet operating.

Smuggs Lift Maintenance Manager Boder Stevens making sure the Madonna I lift is ready to operate this weekend.

We received 6 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 31 inches in the past 5 days. Snowmaking continues around the clock on Midway, Sam’s Run, Burton Riglet Park, and Lower Morse Liftline. We have 3 lifts operating today the Sterling Lift, Sir Henry’s Magic Carpet, and the Mogul Mouse Magic Lift to mid station. We now have 33 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. This weekend we plan to have the Village Lift and Mogul Mouse Magic Lift operating to the top with Garden Path, Lower Morse Liftline, Magic Learning Trail, Wanderer, Midway, Sir Henry’s Learning Hill, and Meadowlark all open on Morse. The Madonna 1 lift and Sterling lift will both operate this weekend. Snowmaking continues on Morse Mountain today and we plan to start making snow on Madonna Mountain tonight or tomorrow.

I had a blast today playing on Madonna and Morse Mountain. The views from the Madonna I chairlift were just fantastic with the beautiful clear skies. I started my day off with skiing Upper Chilcoot and FIS. The freshly groomed terrain was nice and edgeable. I really enjoyed the steep smooth surface on Upper FIS. This afternoon I headed to Morse Mountain to ski with my daughters Hannah and Hayleigh. We rode the Mogul Mouse Magic Lift which is designed for kids. The chairs are lower for loading and unloading, which makes it easier for the kids. The towers are also lower, so you are never that high off the snow. Dave and his staff at the Mogul Mouse Magic Lift are very friendly and always seem to be having a good time.

Father Winter serving up some hot cider

Dave and one of his crew members were dancing to the music playing as we loaded one time. The girls decided that they want to visit Father Winter’s Tipi on one run, so we stopped by. Father Winter’s Tee Pee is located between Lower Morse Liftline and Magic Learning Trail. It’s a real tipi with a hole at the top for the smoke to escape and Father Winter had a fire going. He had some cider in a pot on the fire and gave us all a nice warm cup of cider to enjoy. There are so many different things that Father Winter has in his tipi like games, furs, skulls, and more. Every time I visit Father Winter the items inside the tipi are different and I learn something new. The girls were having such a good time that they did not want to leave. I had to bribe them with another run on the Mogul Mouse Magic Lift and a trip to King Billy Bob’s Den to get them to go. It sure does make you feel good when your kids say ”Daddy that was really fun! We can’t wait to do it again!”

Another guest at Father Winter’s teepee

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating and 38 trails open. Snowmaking continues around the clock tonight on Garden Path, Sam’s Run, Lower Morse Liftline, Log Jam, Midway, and Meadowlark. Tonight’s forecast is calling for an inch of new snow. Tomorrow’s forecast is flurries and a snow shower early then partly sunny skies with temperatures between 5 and 16 degrees. 34 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper FIS and Snake Bite for a grand total of 135 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

In the past 12 hours we made snow on Dixie’s Knoll, Sam’s Run, Upper FIS, and Curley’s Cutback. Tomorrow we plan to open the Morse Highlands Area.We plan to have the Morse Highlands Lift operating with Sam’s Run and Dixie’s Knoll open. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly to mostly cloudy skies with temperatures between 25 and 39 degrees and windy. Weather permitting we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating and 37 trails open. 24 trails will be groomed for tomorrow’s that’s 126 acres of freshly groomed terrain.There is snow in the forecast for Thursday and Friday this week. The Nordic Center is open with 15 km of snowshoeing.

Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating and 35 trails open. 21 trails have been groomed for today, including Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 121 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We are presently making snow on Sam’s Run and Dixie’s Knoll.

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Hugh Johnson

Hello skiers and riders! Thanks for checking out my blog. I've been skiing Smuggs since I was a young 'un, when my family moved to Vermont and made the resort a temporary home base. Full circle — now I'm introducing my own family to the mountain! Each day you'll find an entry and photo on mountain conditions and happenings, highlighting the great terrain we have spread over three mountains and the awesome adventures that skiers and riders of all ages can have out there! You'll also hear from Rockin' Ron Carter a couple days during the week. Maybe you'll spot him on his favorite run — Pirate's Plank on Sterling Mountain. We'll be out there on the slopes, and hope to see you — thanks for skiing and riding Smuggs!